I’m very proud to call myself a member of ISDA :)
“ISDA is a community of ocean enthusiasts mostly from the Ateneo, who are skilled and responsible skin-divers instilled with the spirit of environmentalism.”
Despite the sad fact that I haven’t been active for a while and probably don’t even know how to skin dive anymore, this org still holds an important place in my heart. I joined it at a time when I was lost and unmotivated and the sea, the learning, and the people pulled me out of it. I keep in touch with them (and hope to dive again soon) because nothing can jumpstart you like being in the presence of passionate, down-to-earth dreamers who take their goals to real life action.
A recent product of ISDA members’ initiative is the Batang VIP project.
VIP stands for Verde Island Passage. Until the middle of October, the Mind Museum is holding an exhibit called A Glass of Sea that centers on the world’s center for marine biodiversity, the Coral Triangle. The project wants to send 83 of the kids from Isla Verde to the exhibit on October 4, 2015. As residents of an island right in the middle of the Coral Triangle, these children will be the future stakeholders of this wellspring of marine life and that all starts with learning.
Photo from Mind Museum
Once they know how important the sea they see everyday is, the action of caring for it will hopefully, inevitably follow
If you agree and if you wanna help out, you can sponsor one of the children. To sponsor, you can donate P1700. If you donate P10,000 or more, the project head and one of the ISDA founders, Gela Petines, will give you a free skin diving lesson :) If this is a bit much, you can donate anything you can too.
Here are a few more details from their FB page that I’m just translating to English for anyone out there not from the Philippines:
What’s the total amount needed? When’s the deadline for the fund raising?
P142,000 – including entrance fees
Deadline is September 20, 2015. As of August 27, 2015 (19th Fundraising Day)
Php 92,918.52 or 65% of the needed funds has been raised! Thank you!
How big is the group?
83 pupils from Grades 4-6 + 7 adult companions from the island + 10 volunteers = 100 people
People will be invited to the fieldtrip, details to follow.
Where do I deposit?
BPI Bank Deposit/ Fund Transfer to:
Marie Angela Sembrano Petines
BPI Savings Acct. no. 1439 0906 06
If you’re depositing, please send a transaction record via the Batang VIP Facebook or email gelapetines@gmail.com :)
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